The Mystery of Love (Johnlock)

Missing John

Sherlock quickly slammed the door to his bedroom and pressed his back to the door. He shut his eyes and was breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and looked around his room. His bed was tucked away in the left corner of the room. Bookshelves filled to the brim lined the walls except for a window directly across the door. A wardrobe stands to Sherlock's right with the doors open. A large collection of sticky notes cover the inside of the wardrobe door. A mirror hung next to the wardrobe in the cramped room.

He walked to his wardrobe and looked at the clothes he had inside. He searched for a shirt that he liked but couldn't find one. Sherlock would pull out a shirt, look at himself in the mirror, try it one and toss it aside. A large pile of shirts collected in the middle of the room. Sherlock gave up on looking for shirts and started looking for a pair of undergarments. Suddenly Sherlock remembered John carrying a fresh change of clothes into the bathroom with him before he helped Sherlock bathe.

Sherlock quickly bolted from his room to the bathroom and grabbed the clothes that John had prepared for him. Once he had obtained the clothes, he ran back into his bedroom to change. He put the neatly folded clothes on the bed and laid them out. John had chosen a maroon button down shirt and a pair of black dress pants. John had also chosen a pair of Sherlock's unties to give him. Black long socks and freshly polished shoes were added to complete the outfit.

Sherlock started putting on his clothes, starting with his undies and pants and moving on to his socks and shoes. He didn't notice until he was buttoning his shirt that John had gone in his room in order to get any of Sherlock's clothes. Sherlock started to blush at the thought that John had seen his disaster of a room and picked out a pair of underwear for him. Sherlock finished buttoning his shirt and tied his shoes. He walked out of his room and into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As Sherlock brushed, he thought about John and what had happened that day. He recalled trying to figure out how Moriarty had survived a bullet to the head and getting frustrated. He remembered knocking over vials of hydrochloric acid in his anger and running out of the house. He remembered seeing Moriarty on the roof of the morgue. He tried to visualize the roof he stood on earlier that day. He couldn't understand what had happened.

He then remembers seeing Moriarty jump off the building and landing to his death. He remembers John's embrace as he calmed his nerves and took care of him. When they had called a cab he didn't see Moriarty's body on the ground or blood spilled. There was no one cleaning the blood or any press trying to get a good story. In fact, he doesn't remember even hearing an ambulance or police cars.

Sherlock's mouth had foam falling from his mouth from the long time he had only brushed the left side of his mouth. He spit the toothpaste out and rinsed his toothbrush. He reapplied toothpaste to his toothbrush and started to brush the right side. He thought about how Moriarty's body had disappeared without a trace. "Could I have been hallucinating?" Sherlock thought, "But he touched me. Moriarty had touched my very own flesh."

Sherlock had thought long and hard about what could have happened. "I was on the roof, I talked to Moriarty, Moriarty fell, a few minutes later John was- John..." It was as if a light bulb had appeared over his head. Sherlock was about to run out of the bathroom to John but he remembered that he was still brushing his teeth. Sherlock hadn't even finished brushing but foam was coming out of his mouth.

He spit the foam out, rinsed his toothbrush and applied more toothpaste to the brush. After all the time he had spent not brushing his teeth, it was immensely needed. "Maybe I didn't actually see Moriarty. All the evidence points to him not being alive; no sirens, no blood, no body. It could have been a figment of my imagination. If Moriarty was alive, John would have surely seen the body on the ground or watched him fall. He would have heard the body hit the floor. If he's real, John will have seen him and it will be in the paper tomorrow. If it's my imagination then I don't have to worry ... right?"

The more Sherlock thought, the more rapid his toothbrush moved across his teeth. The foam from his mouth trailed from Sherlock's mouth down his chin to his collar bone. Sherlock saw the white substance and got a small towel to clean himself up. One more second and Sherlock's shirt would have gotten dirty. Sherlock rinses his mouth and the brush for the last time before checking his appearance in the mirror. Sherlock's hair is still wet enough to comb without any major complication. He parted his hair to the right with a comb and used his fingers to make his hair look fluffier. He looked in the bathroom mirror one last time before rushing to the living room.

Sherlock looked for John but he couldn't find him. He checked in the kitchen but only found an empty fridge. "Maybe he went out grocery shopping?" Sherlock went into the small office they shared but didn't see John. He looked at John's bedroom door and was tempted to look inside. He looked away and started to go downstairs. Mrs. Hudson was in her living room reading a book when Sherlock came in.

"Mrs. Hudson, I can't find John anywhere. I don't know where he has gone," Sherlock said anxiously, "Have you seen him? Did he leave? How long has he been gone? Is he okay?"

Mrs. Hudson held a hand up to stop Sherlock from speaking.

"Sherlock there is no need to worry. He is just fine. No one took him away, he's not hurt and he didn't abandon you. He left about ten minutes ago. He said he needed to pick something up from the market and that he would be back soon."

Sherlock had a worried expression on his face that scared Mrs. Hudson. "What market did he go to? Where is he?"

"He didn't say. He only said that if you had finished changing before he was done, to tell you that he would be back within the hour."

"Mrs. Hudson, I don't think you understand. I NEED him here. I must know where he is." Sherlock persisted.

Mrs. Hudson grew worried, "Why the rush to see him? What is so important that it can't wait until later?"

"MRS. HUDSON!" Sherlock yelled in anger. Sherlock paused to calm down, "Mrs. Hudson, I saw Moriarty. I don't know if he was really there or in my imagination but I need to speak with John. My sanity depends on it."

Mrs. Hudson was as pale as a ghost. She didn't speak for a few seconds before looking down in shame and disappointment.

"I am so sorry Sherlock but I don't know where he is. If I did I would tell you. You could call him on the landline or text him but I can't help you."

Sherlock left with tears forming in his eyes. He ran up the stairs three at a time and slammed the door once inside his flat. Sherlock took his phone out of his pocket and dialed John's number. The phone rang as Sherlock impatiently waited for John to pick up. One ring ... two rings ... three rings ... Sherlock hung up before he could hear the voice machine. He texted John saying, "John, come home. It's important."

Sherlock waited a few seconds before typing another message. "I need you, please hurry!" Sherlock paced around the room intently while waiting for John to arrive. Sherlock looked at John's bedroom door and stopped dead in his tracks. Sherlock was curious as to what hid behind that door. "John has seen my bedroom, why shouldn't I be allowed to see his?"

Sherlock walked slowly towards John's bedroom door. He waited outside the door as if waiting to be let inside. He placed a hand on the door knob and gripped it tightly. He turned the brass doorknob and pushed the door open. What he saw, stunned him.